In a sea thermal power plant, it is important to be able to move the plant at a slow rate of speed over the surface of the water while producing power, or alternatively to be able to maintain the plant in a fixed position despite the drag forces created by winds and currents. The warm water from the surface layer of the sea is drawn into the plant by suitable pumps and directed through heat exchangers or evaporators and after giving up some heat, to boil a power producing fluid, it is rejected from the plant. Since warm water has been removed from the surface of the sea, it must be replaced by water from underneath the surface and the surface water is then slightly cooler than before. Thus, in order to have available a continuous supply of warm water, that can be drawn into the plant, it is necessary that the plant be moved about the surface of the sea.
In order to effectively move the power plant, it has been proposed to employ adjustable deflectors which would permit directing the thrust of the water rejected from the heat exchangers so as to produce thrust in any desired direction, thereby producing forces to move the plant or to position the plant with respect to the currents of the sea. While a system of this type permits thrust to be produced and directed in such a way as to position a plant, it is questionable whether enough thrust can be produced to overcome the drag forces produced by wind and currents under high storm conditions. Therefore, it becomes important to have a thrust means available, which can produce higher thrust during times when storms may occur.